


Cucumbers and Yams

by rockinellie



Category: Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 21:38:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17271593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rockinellie/pseuds/rockinellie
Summary: Cliff is just getting used to life in Mineral Town when the new farmer, James, upsets the status quo.Note: James is the playable character.





	Cucumbers and Yams

**Author's Note:**

> I name my character James in-game so that's his name here but I think most people call him Jack(?). Also he is modeled after "Claire" from MFOMT since that's the sprite I choose.
> 
> I recently married Cliff in my Harvest Moon DS Cute but I prefer Mineral Town so I just kind of...moved everything I imagined happening to here. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> PS: Popuri is my favorite bachelorette in any game so any teasing at how hyper/high pitched she is in a loving way. She's my first wife!

All in all, Mineral Town was a very nice town indeed. It was quaint and everyone knew each other. Within a few weeks of being in town, Cliff had met everyone who lived there. Cliff had enjoyed stopping into Mineral Town so much that he had stayed for several months longer than he had originally planned. Traveling had been fun but there was something about this town that made him feel at ease and happy to just be there. So he settled into the Inn, got to know the Innkeeper's daughter, Ann, and spent plenty of time walking around the forest and mountains surrounding the town. 

The last remainders of snow crunched under his boots as he wound his way down from the mountain. Spring was coming soon. Any day now the lake would finish thawing out and the town would wake up from it’s half-hibernation. Many of the townsfolk seemed to depend on warmer weather to make their livings due to the nature of them mostly being farmers of some kind. When Cliff entered the Inn he took his scarf and jacket off, hanging them on a hook and calling out a greeting to the many regulars who spent their nights drinking in the comfort of the Inn’s warm lobby. Cliff was on the stairs when Ann came rushing from the back.

“Cliff!” She grabbed the railing near where he stood, her big grin infectious, “You won’t believe what we’ve heard today!”

“Try me,” Cliff said, smiling back at her.

“There’s a newcomer coming to town! He’s taking over the old abandoned farm by Gotz’s. The Mayor commissioned Gotz to make the house liveable so now the whole town is buzzing.”

Cliff was surprised. From what he could gather he was not only the newest person in town but also the only visitor they had had in several years that stayed more than a day or so. “Do we know his name?”

“Nah, Gotz didn’t ask. You know him. But we’re really excited to meet him! Popuri especially is excited. You know how she’s got that wanderlust.”

“Hopefully he has plenty of stories to share. I imagine if he comes to move into the farm he won’t be doing much traveling once he gets here.”

Ann smiled, “True enough. I’m sure he’ll bore her soon, anyway, since she’s got big eyes for Kai.”

“Oh, he’s young?” Cliff asked, sounding surprised. For some reason he had assumed it would be someone older, too old for the many bachelorette’s in town. His time here hadn’t really opened his eyes to most of it (mainly because he kept to himself) but he wasn’t a total moron and did know that several of the people in town seemed to be “paired off” whether or not they had realized it themselves yet. Cliff could tell, for example, that Karen and Rick were likely to end up married if only for the fact that they were best friends and that tended to create stable marriages. 

“Oh yeah, probably around our age,” Ann said, laughing a bit, “All the guys in town seem interested but I bet if he takes a fancy to any of the ladies they’re not gonna like it much. Especially the slower-to-act type of guys like Rick. Karen’s a good catch so if new guy is interested…”

Cliff considered this, looking thoughtful before saying kindly, “I’m sure Karen will come around. They’re very compatible.”

“Yeah, what every girl wants in life: compatibility. You’re a true romantic, Cliff. But I’m sure you’re right, they’ve been pals for as long as forever, so they’re bound to realize they’re in love. Anyway, I didn’t mean to stop you. Have a nice night!” She turned away then, and went over to join the others at the table. 

Heading up the stairs, Cliff did wonder what the men would do if this newcomer managed to woo their crushes. No doubt each man must have a crush-even if it was on the same woman. Mineral Town had seemed kind to outsiders but what if that was just because Cliff didn’t start any trouble? He kept to himself, minded his own business, and generally seemed uninterested in romantic affairs. But the truth was there was a limited number of young people in town. Eight besides himself, unless he counted Kai who visited in summer, and then there were nine. Miraculously there was an even number of each gender but what if, say, three of the men had a crush on Mary? Would they settle for another of the young women? Certainly they would have to. It hadn’t occurred to Cliff that there may be bad blood among the townspeople over romance but now that he was considering it it didn’t seem too far off. When the new guy came, he hoped he was ready for whatever challenges the small mountain town would give him.

\--

Spring was on them before Cliff was quite ready, and within the first few days of it, the new guy had arrived. The town was ablaze with people talking about him and discussing how long they thought he would ‘last’. His name was James and he had inherited the farm from the man who lived there but hadn’t known about it for a few years. When he had heard about his inheritance he had packed up and moved to Mineral Town to work it back up to its glory. There was something admirable in that, but Cliff was more interested in the accounts of the women. The plus to being quiet in general was that oftentimes people forgot he was there. So there was no surprise that while reading in a corner of the Inn’s dining room he was privy to a conversation held between a few of the towns eligible young ladies.

“Have you seen him yet?” Ann asked, her voice one of the two Cliff could recognize even from a great distance. From his accidental hiding place behind a potted plant he knew Ann would be one of the easier to hear.

Popuri was second easiest, since her voice was high and she often spoke louder than needed, “Oh yeah! He came by to get a chicken a few days after he got here!”

“So?” Karen asked, softer than the other two but still audible. “What does he look like?”

“He’s tall! Really tall, like six foot! And he’s got all this hair-I’ve never seen a boy with such long hair. It was in a ponytail but it still hit his waist. And!” Popuri paused for dramatic effect, “He was wearing pink overalls! I asked him if he thought they might get dirty from all the farming but he just told me he knows how to wash them.”

“Pink like dark mauve or pink pink?” Asked a fourth girl, though Cliff wasn’t sure which of the two other girls it was.

“Pink like my hair!”

“That’s pretty pink,” Ann said, “But how’s he-you know-is he pretty good looking?”

There was some giggling as everyone told Ann she couldn’t just ask that, but Popuri delivered a quiet, “Oh, very.” 

Cliff found he had been leaning into their conversation and once Popuri had confirmed this new guy-James-was good looking he felt a pretty surprising flutter in his stomach. Maybe he was more invested in the love lives of the townsfolk than he had realized. 

“I’ll let you know what I think if he comes by the store. He’s got to eat sometime!”

“True, though he said he brought enough for a few weeks so it might be a while!” Popuri said, “Might be best to run into him. He told us that he was picking up a chicken because he had come into town to drop off some tools with Grey. He says he wants to try mining a bit. Might be able to run into him on the mountain!”

Soon after the talk changed into general interests but Cliff found that his thoughts were almost entirely on this James and his strangely long hair and his pink overalls. Once the girls had split up, Cliff stood to go up to his room and was startled to find Ann watching him with an unreadable expression on her face. Clearly, she had known he was there the whole time but why she had let the girls gab about the pretty newcomer was beyond him. Wasn’t that generally reserved for private conversations and girl friends? But maybe he misunderstood and they would tell any guy they thought the new guy was good-looking. They stood staring at each other for a bit too long to be comfortable before Cliff shifted awkwardly.

“So you haven’t met James yet?”

“No. And I’m not gonna go climbing up the mountain just to take a look at a guy that will probably come round to get some warm food sometime. Have you met him?”

“Not yet,” Cliff said.

Ann tilted her head a bit, looking him over, “Yeah but you spend a lot of time up there don’t you? So you’re likely to run into him. And that would be pretty expected, since you’re always going up there and staying for most of the day. I wouldn’t wonder if you met him as early as tomorrow, now that his tools were fixed up. Let me know if you meet him and how he is. Popuri told me earlier he seems very nice but very set on staying here. So not really her type, you know?”

“Figured as much,” Cliff said, smiling easily. “I’m going to bed now, have a nice night, Ann.”

“You too. And Cliff,” Ann said, calling up after him as he made his way up the stairs, “Try not to be too shy with him!”

Cliff ducked into his room and shut the door behind him. Normally, he was quite shy. So that he was even considering heading up to the mountains after knowing that a stranger may be there was a bit beyond him. And why had Ann set it up like it would be totally understandable? It was understandable so why she felt the need to let him know it was so felt strange to him and he was feeling a little on-edge. Something seemed to be implied from their conversation but it was just beyond his reach and scope. Though he could tell he didn’t like her implications there was nothing he could do to argue it if he wasn’t quite sure what it was. 

\---

The unease hadn’t left him by the next morning so he was as surprised as Ann was unsurprised when he took his breakfast to go. The crisp spring air ruffled his hair as he made his way out of town and through the forest towards the path that led up into the mountains. Birds were chirping, the sun was warm on his face, he had a warm breakfast packed up for him as well as a lunch and yet Cliff was feeling kind of clammy and worried. This was normal, of course, he was shy and he didn’t like meeting new people and trying to get a conversation going. It was exasperated by Ann’s knowing look when he asked for enough food to get him through dinner. Why she didn’t seem surprised was beyond him and he wanted to prove her wrong by heading to the beach and napping all day or sitting out behind the church and daydreaming or reading, but his feet led him away from the town and towards the mountains. It seemed even if he was logically uninterested in meeting someone new his body was determined. 

The mine was next to the natural hot spring and there was plenty of grass. While Cliff usually hung out near the top of the mountain or the lake it wasn’t necessarily unusual for him to spend time here as well. So why he was nervous while laying down his blanket under a tree and unpacking his breakfast was beyond him. Every rustle in the bushes, every animal passing through had Cliff jump. But the hours passed and no one appeared. Around noon he had given up hope of anyone coming and abandoned his things to get into the hot spring. No one tended to come up this far this late in the afternoon and he was lulled into a false sense of security. So Cliff left his clothes under the tree and only took a towel with him across the grass to the hot spring. Hanging it over one of the rocks he slipped in and relaxed, enjoying the soft music of the wind in the leaves and the birds talking. 

All the way up until the unmistakable noise of boots on the dirt walkway. Starting, Cliff went for his towel, but it was too late, as right as he grabbed it one of the most stunning people he had ever seen rounded the corner. Their eyes met and Cliff stopped, half in and half out of the water while the very pretty young man also stopped, looking surprised. As Popuri had described the man was tall, with long blonde hair that was tied back from his face but still reached his waist. He was indeed wearing a pastel shade of pink overalls which contrasted with his bright, bright blue eyes. So bright, in fact, that Cliff’s first thought was that they were ethereal. James was tall but willowy and hardly looked capable of farm work but the ease at which he held his pickaxe on his shoulder showed looks were deceiving. 

In contrast, Cliff was taller but bulkier, more of a triangle shape with a thin waist and broad shoulders. He had brown hair and brown eyes and where James seemed unreal, like someone had imagined him, Cliff looked like a real man, a man who had experienced life and traveled and was a little weary from it but positive overall. While he seemed surprised at first, James recovered quickly and smiled brightly at Cliff.

“Hi, I’m James. I’m the new farmer in town.”

Cliff stared, but eventually sat back down slowly, “Hi. Uh, I’m Cliff. Sorry, I didn’t expect anyone.”

“That’s okay, I didn’t mean to interrupt or startle you,” His smile was genuine and blinding as he made his way closer to the hot spring, “I’ve heard about you! You live at the Inn, right? I was told I might run into you since you’re up here all the time.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I heard about you, too.” There was a long silence while James waited for more, so eventually Cliff supplied, “Are you here to mine?”

James wiggled his pickaxe a little and said cheerily, “Sure am. I’ll get to it, then, enjoy your dip!”

“Thanks.”

Without another word, James headed for the mine’s entrance, only stopping to wave before he slipped into the dark. As soon as Cliff was certain he wasn’t coming back he got out of the spring and rushed to put his clothes back on. What a way to first meet! While being naked wasn’t necessarily the most embarrassing thing he definitely didn’t think it was a good way to meet the guy who was new to town. Now that they had met, though, Cliff was wondering what he should tell Ann. James was nice and cheerful and while he was tall he was more elven than farmer-and prettier than anyone had described him as. Not that it mattered to Cliff as he had no stakes in the women in town but he could see that this was some serious competition should he set his sights on anyone. Maybe he should have tried to engage more and invite James to share his lunch. Maybe he should wait a few hours to see if he came back out…

It only took two or so hours for James to come back out, holding his rucksack in one hand and the pickaxe in the other. The pickaxe showed wear, and he had some smudges on his overalls, but he was generally clean and well-kempt. When he saw Cliff he seemed surprised.

“I didn’t expect you to still be here!” 

Cliff fidgeted and asked, “Didn’t Popuri tell you? I spend most of my time up here. Did you get anything good?”

“Oh, sure,” James smiled, “Plenty of iron and copper to fix up the farm. I’ve only got the one chicken right now but she’s going to need some friends and I need to work on getting better fences and buildings to keep everyone safe.”

“That’s a good plan, sometimes storms come through and tear less stable buildings down. Last fall we had to build the beach shack back up due to a storm.”

“Good to know. Well, I’m starved so I’m headed down. Have a good day!” 

As James turned to leave Cliff opened his mouth to offer up his food for sharing but he hesitated. Long enough for James to cheerfully head down out of the small clearing, calling out another good-bye at the curve. Once he was gone Cliff cursed himself and flopped onto his back. Well, he supposed, James would have to come back to mine some day, right? Hopefully next time he would be more up to the task of talking to him and creating a lasting friendship. After all, he only really talked to Ann and maybe expanding would be good for him. That was quite clearly why he was so interested in the new guy. They were both new and maybe that could help foster a relationship. Worth a shot, anyway. So Cliff sat up and ate his lunch, planning out what he would say to James when he happened upon him again.


End file.
